How often do you use the phrase "only being human" when someone acts without compassion or empathy? In the book, "The Brighter Side of Human Nature: Altruism and Empathy in Everyday Life," author Alfie Kohn makes the point that we go through our lives and careers assuming that people who put the interests of others first are rare. He goes on to suggest that it's important to change your inner dialogue about what it's like to be human by deleting the word "only." Then you'll begin the process of opening yourself up to your own inner humanness.

This process starts with forgiveness and kindness. The first person you need to practice forgiveness and kindness with is yourself. When you learn to accept your own capacity for empathy and compassion, you will see it in others. Being human means that you have the capacity for forgiveness, empathy, love and compassion. These are the greatest of all human qualities. Remove the word "only" and you have "being human." Removing one word makes all the difference. And when you live a no-limits life, words such as "only" no longer keep you from embracing your potential to act with compassion and empathy. Start today to use the phrase "being human" to reflect the best in all of us. Being human. It's surprising how removing one word can empower you to adopt a bias for optimistically seeing the potential for goodness in yourself and others.

The tales that Hollywood movies like to tell are that business is often filled with nefarious individuals who are always out for their own good.

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This is a false script. "Enlightened companies are increasingly aware that delivering empathy for their customers, employees and the public is a powerful tool for improving profits," writes Belinda Parmar in the Harvard Business Review.

"If you aren't given the tools of applied empathy as a young child, we shouldn't be blaming you -- we should be blaming us. We have to have a revolution so that all young people grasp empathy and practice it. This is the most fundamental revolution that we have to get through," according to Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka.org. Drayton founded Ashoka in 1980 with the goal of spreading the message that empathy exists in everyone and that it must be part of an international dialogue.

Since acting with empathy on the job results in greater team effectiveness, here are a few steps you can take to build a more empathetic and productive work environment.

Address behavior, not the person

When you are confronted with a disappointing situation at work, step back and try to see the events from the other person's point of view. Although you may not approve of the actions of a conscientious co-worker, you can still empathize with the individual acting with positive intent and seek to understand motives and address the behavior, not the person.

Catch people in the act of doing the right thing

Practice catching people in the act of doing the right thing and accentuate the positive actions of the people with whom you work. This will help you build a culture that supports the values that drive successful outcomes at your firm. Recognizing each time your co-workers act with empathy and kindness rewards behavior that will lead to positive outcomes and make your workplace culture one that redefines what it means to be human.

Find solutions, not blame

Don't waste time finding fault. Drive a culture that seeks solutions and does not blame by focusing on the process not the person. Being empathetic will make you feel better about yourself and place you in a better frame of mind to deal with setbacks and disappointments. At the end of the day, you will want your team to get back into the game and try again without fear that they will be humiliated whenever they make a conscientious process mistake.

People, passion, then product

If you want to build a culture that rewards empathy, compassion and kindness, then put people first and passion for the work will follow. You'll then be prepared to engage the competitive marketplace with your best product or service.

Changing your framework for what it really means to be human and then building a new culture at work may be slow at first because coworkers will need time to awaken their skills for empathy, compassion and kindness, so stick with it. Building a culture like this is well worth the journey.

Now let's go change the world.

Michael T. Greenwood, Ph.D., is a professor of management and entrepreneurship at Fitchburg State University. He is a motivational speaker, corporate trainer and strategic planner with more than 30 years of business experience. Email mgreenwood@mgbcs.com.

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